...was really something, wasn't it? :D

It was also a week ago, so it's about time I wrote something before the moment passes!

Well, where to start...I guess the best preface to this is to say that I've been on Newgrounds for a long time, but mainly from the outside looking in. The creativity and talent that people have showcased here has always inspired me, and has been something I've wanted to take part in as well -- but it turns out that making good stuff is pretty hard! Since I had initially envisioned myself as engaging with NG primarily by submitting (pardon the term) "content" and being one of the cool kids, but haven't been able to live up to that self-imposed expectation, I've reserved myself to mostly lurking (with a few exceptions that I'm immensely grateful for) and have quietly carried that out in a fairly self-defeating way. This hasn't detracted from my desire to take part in the community somehow, but left me feeling unsure of how to make that happen.

So imagine my delight when the Toronto meetup was announced last summer. As I live in the GTA (i.e. the Greater Toronto Area, which is another way of saying that I live in Toronto without actually living in Toronto), this was right up my alley (almost literally so) & felt like the perfect opportunity to turn my wistful yearning over getting involved with NG into something a tad more concrete. Alas, I didn't end up going due to a few personal reasons, but the fact that it happened at all was good enough for me. Besides, the positive turnout it had had gave me confidence that it would happen again...which it did! And this time there were no excuses, so I indeed attended, and what an experience it was.

With all that out of the way, I'll finally talk about that darned meetup!!

The day started off strong: at the very beginning of the subway trip down to the park, I just so happened to bump into some fellow meetup attendees: @vhsdreamland, and a friend of hers who doesn't have a NG account (boo!!!) and whose name escapes me (sorry!!)! We spent the ride down talking about our varied interactions with Newgrounds, reminiscing over the stuff we saw on there as kids that we probably shouldn't have (despite being from different generations -- some experiences truly are universal), and chatting about life in general. And V (hope it's fine if I call her that) was kind enough to share some comic prints of hers, and one of @Pahgawk's stickers that she had printed!

Some silly Madness comics by @vhsdreamland. Left is an instance of this Powerpuff Girls comic meme that she introduced me to.

Upon arriving at Christie Station, I felt a warm fuzzy feeling as we approached the meetup crowd -- this was real! We parted ways to go mingle, but not before being greeted by @Snackers who handed us name tags for us to fill. Maybe this is a bit silly, but as nice as it was to put a face to the name of someone whose work I was familiar with, it was made even better by getting a name tag from him! That name tags were being handed out at all felt incredibly cozy, as it cemented this as an event where people who had never met each other wanted to get to know each other (not to mention it being a large enough event for name tags to be warranted at all), and made it feel like everyone was on the same wavelength (more on that later).

Shortly afterwards, I saw some sketchbook swaps happening, and eagerly joined in. I'm regrettably not much of an artist, so I just stamped my self-indulgent signature in a few victims' books, but that didn't deter them from sharing their art in mine, which was heartwarming to say the least :) Perhaps the best way to thank everyone who graced my sketchbook with their talents throughout the day is to share their work here, so behold:

Sketches by @Gatchakoi and @Snackers, featuring their hit characters Some Guy and (presumably) Some Other Guy. I have just enough of an ego to think that SOG looks like me.

Sketches by @vhsdreamland and @POSTBOY, the latter of whom I bonded with over our common mourning of cel animation.

Sketches by @Maskscot, who made the most of my Sharpie to render Shin-chan's rugged brows.

A STICKMEN 2020-esque alien hominid by @TomFulp, and a rude Sonic by someone with an appealing yet illegible signature. Former drawn at the park; latter at the theatre in the seat in front of me.

Above: @ninjamuffin99 & his GF teamed up for the mesmerizing work of art that appears before you. Below: a feral Brian Griffin by an anonymous contributor (claimants welcome). Both drawn outside the bar next to the theatre after nightfall.

@kmishama's profile pic OC, who appears to be mad that she's flying. Drawn outside the bar before I headed back home.

Not only were there sketches and name tags, but people were also sharing custom swag they made for the event! It was really such a beautiful sight to see that so many people were eager to make & share stuff with everyone...in a sense, it was the spirit of Newgrounds made corporeal.

Lovingly-crafted stickers by the NG community, and just-as-lovingly-crafted FNF merch designed by @mogy64 & produced by @Coby.

Between the sketches & swag, the shock of meeting so many people with whom I've had light parasocial relationships with, and the general awkwardness of not really knowing anybody who was there, I'll admit that I didn't know what to do with myself for a bit...! Part of what made that time in the park feel strange & almost like an out-of-body experience was that the common binding interest behind everyone being there -- our appreciation of art, media, entertainment, and some weird website in particular -- is something that I've always engaged with as an "online" activity, compartmentalized from other aspects of myself (I use an alias on here after all, and I'm sure plenty others do too). I've been to other "geeky" events before, like anime conventions, gaming tournaments, and comic expos, but this meetup hit totally different given how personal NG has been to me, and how strong of a community the NG crowd was proving itself to be before my very eyes. I guess the shock came from seeing that what I've always treated as a cerebral & introverted hobby has a much more "real" side to it, and that I've perhaps gone about wanting to be part of the NG community all wrong: it's not about any individual, but about everyone lifting each other up & celebrating each other.

...but enough introspection; here are some amusing highlights from the park!

• @Droid gave me possibly the hardiest handshake I've ever received while I slowly worked out that he was not, in fact, @ninjamuffin99.
• I got to meet @TomFulp, who prior to this meetup was someone I had never thought I'd cross paths with. He's as much of a chill & genuine guy as he's cracked up to be. We and others nearby chatted about NG history (go figure), web technology, game development, 9/11, you name it.
• On the way to the theatre, I had a nice chat with @Luis about NG history (go figure x2 combo), the indie animation & game scene, life experiences, and all that jazz. Also as chill and genuine of a person as I'd been led to believe. I couldn't have asked for a better walk to the theatre.
• Plus, I got to show off my STICKMEN 2020 shirt, which I won't stop feeling good about having won in the 2020 Block Party raffle (and which I'll never stop telling people about either). @Wandaboy got so much of a kick out of it that he sent a photo of it to @wavetro himself!

The line to the theatre beginning to form. Was hard to imagine that not even a half hour earlier it was drizzling!

Of course, the theatre experience was absolutely amazing. Just watch the playlist and imagine it on the big screen, with an audience that really digs it. Cam (I hope he doesn't mind me calling him that; it's much easier to type than his handle) picked a stellar bunch of toons to showcase the immense talent, personality, variety, and (range of) quality one can expect to find on Newgrounds.

And if that's not enough, the post-theatre bar experience also happened, despite the logistical nightmare of hosting several dozen people under one roof! Here is where I finally got to say hi to Cam in person, whom (contrary to my musings about parasocial relationships earlier) I had in fact interacted with before the event, way back in 2019 when pestering him to merge my Github PRs for his stinky Discord bot FulpTron. I also met @Pahgawk whose NATA toons I had seen years ago, along with another NG user (whose handle I regrettably did not obtain) who was accompanied by family that was curious to learn about Newgrounds history & was blown away by the quality showcased at the screening.

The evening crowd at the bar, Hapa Izakaya, shortly before I head back home. It was popping all throughout the night, and the venue itself was great -- check it out next time you're on College & Clinton!

Finally, near the end of the night, I met @kmishama and, among some other topics, chatted about what we thought of the day. As I was still very much overstimulated, I told her that I felt that just one day wasn't enough to contain all the excitement to be had, and that maybe someday there'd be room for a whole Newgrounds convention, to give big players time to tell their stories, what they've been up to, and such. But then she said something that really made not only the meetup click for me, but all of what Newgrounds stands for: the magic of the meetup was how it was very much an egalitarian experience, with no chosen ones up on a podium delivering panels, but instead a group of like-minded individuals enjoying each other's company. And that is quite possibly the best way to sum up the event. Just consider the fact that an onlooker would be hard-pressed to tell apart the very founder of the site that started all this from the rest of the crowd...! All this made me realize the true spirit of Newgrounds is: not a race to the top; not a platform for winner-take-all competition; not a division between stars and admirers; but an honest-to-goodness community of flesh-and-blood people who just like good shit, want to see more of it, may want to make some of it, and celebrate those who do. This is a lesson I intend to take to heart, somehow.

...and it goes without saying, but thank you @ninjamuffin99 for making this a thing!!!

With all that said, now I can finally read other people's recap posts without feeling self-conscious about not having written one myself!

CHANGELOG

• 1.0.0 - Initial version.
• 1.0.1 - Added missing formatting to a link.
• 1.1.0 - Corrected attribution of the FNF pin; added some more photos; improved formatting.